Neurological disorders and conditions, such as seizure disorders that are characterized by epileptic seizures, acute or chronic brain injury, coma, chronic headache or migraine, movement and related disorders, may be treated with medications and, in certain cases, brain surgery. For example, currently available treatment methods for epilepsy and other seizure related disorders may include stimulation of the nervous system by vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), which has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In this method, stimulating electrodes are surgically implanted on the vagus nerve in the neck. In addition to complications related to anesthesia, potential for infection, cost, and other adverse events with VNS, many of the subjects who undergo VNS treatments do not achieve relief from their seizures, and there is no reliable predictor of good outcomes from the implanted VNS device.
Other approaches are the focus of on-going research. For example, implantable approaches, including deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the anterior thalamus and intracranial stimulation of the epileptic zone via a device which monitors brain activity and delivers stimuli to terminate an impending seizure discharge, are also being studied. However, these methods are invasive and may have increased costs and side effects. Further, a substantial percentage of patients do not recover from or get adequate relief for the neurological condition or disorder despite multiple trials of pharmaceutical or surgical treatment.